The Unique Energy of Color War

Having grown up at a camp without Color War, I'd always heard about the concept from friends, and read about it in scholarly articles. (Yeah, I study the history of summer camp at grad school. I know I'm awesome...) Once, Color War was featured in an episode of This American Life, but until yesterday I'd never experienced one in person. Remarkably, these various accounts proved rather accurate, as Camp Poyntelle Lewis Village is deep in the midst of haRuach, the first-session Color War.

The beginning of Poyntelle's first silent lunch competition.

On Poyntelle side, the supervisors kicked off the competition on Monday night with an intense aquatic melodrama - after the directors were "kidnapped" earlier in the evening, and campers had to complete various puzzle stations to free them, the plot developed through highly skilled acting on the dock, on the lake trampoline, and in the water itself. Ultimately, the actors revealed that the directors would in fact be rescued by four Jewish warriors, each of whom would lead one of the Color War teams. (Extra awesome points for having two male warriors and two female warriors - Jewish history features some fierce women!) Over the last few days, campers participated in a variety of sports-based and intellectual challenges, and tomorrow will be the final day of competition.

The Lewis Village teams cheer on their color-mates in last night's quiz bowl.

Meanwhile, the Lewis side competition began with a spirited presentation from the Leaders in Training. After a video and lots of joyous yelling, the teams (themed to classic game shows) were broken out and the sign-ups for individual events began. Last night, the teams competed in a quiz bowl competition, after a long day of sports, and tonight the teams presented exciting talent show, each with its own unique game show narrative. Tomorrow is the final day for Lewis side as well, and a winning team will be crowned tomorrow night. It's easy to see how campers (and staff members) all over North America get completely swept up in this Color War tradition!